


Walk walk fashion baby

by orphan_account



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: (aka canon hange u dipshits), Alternate Universe - Fashion & Models, Bad Jokes, Dom/sub Undertones, Eventual Smut, Fluff, How Do I Tag, M/M, M/M/M, Modern AU, Multi, Nonbinary Hange Zoë, OT3, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Sass, Sassy Levi, Smut, because I have no clue what to put here, erumike - Freeform, eruri - Freeform, erurimike - Freeform, first fic, flustered levi, little bit of Armin, mikeri - Freeform, model!erwin, model!mike, mua!levi, this is very gay, unoriginal title is unoriginal, well probably
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-21
Updated: 2017-08-22
Packaged: 2018-05-28 05:07:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6315910
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Are you Levi?” The man asked in an uncertain voice, eyeing Levi, and Christ, he felt naked under the other’s gaze, despite him being the one with definitely the least clothes on. “..Yeah, sit down.” He ordered, pointing at the stool. He didn’t waste any time, immediately grabbing his primer for the man’s face. His skin was flawless, surprisingly he didn’t even have bags under his eyes, but then again. They had to look beyond flawless to make it here. </p><p>-----------------</p><p>Levi is a young man who magically (or with the help of Hanji) is able to work during the fashion week in Paris, despite not having much experience. He ends up having to take the two too damn handsome models under his wing, though it appears that they take him under theirs more.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

There was one thing Levi was certain of ; he was never going back to drawing patterns.

Surely, the man had _just_ entered his thirties but—No. Never. Again. See, when Levi had started with his studies of fashion in college, he’d expected it all to be… different.  
Well, fashion. The official name was fashion technology ; a perfect mashup of learning all the techniques on how to sew something as big as a full on ball gown, how sewing machines worked, the whole chemical part of creating fabric and whatnot.  
Everything there was to know about fashion, working for a company with a unique style and how to recreate it, moodboards, patterns, _everything._  
Did he enjoy those studies? Hell yeah.  
Did he find the job he wanted? Hell no.

 

When he started working for the famous lingerie company, he’d hoped to be a designer, a stylist. Sadly, they had given him the job of of ‘that guy who figures out how to make patterns’ , telling him he’d work his way up to the position he wanted.  
His job wasn’t comparable with ‘being at the bottom’ but it had been the only open position, and Levi soon knew why.  
  
Drawing patterns itself had always been a bitch, but patterns for lingerie? Hell. Pure hell. The smallest mistake would ruin an entire bra, a fabric with a little less stretch than mentioned in the catalogue of the manufacturer and the panties were 2 sizes smaller than supposed to be.

It was absolutely exhausting, though they were undeniably happy with his work, it seemed, since his salary had been raised with almost 1/3 of the original amount by the time he quit.

Yep. After 6 years of hard work, sleepless nights and an endless amount of deadlines he had to meet, Levi had quit.  
He had never gotten the job he wanted and he was completely _sick_ of drawing bras. Bras, panties, swimsuits and, if he was lucky, some sexy sleepwear.

 

Of course, with a degree like that, finding a new job had been quite the task. If he wanted to do anything in the fashion industry, he’d need extra studies for the position he wanted. Expensive studies that required tons of books, computer programs and time and patience he didn’t have.  
Not to mention that he would barely learn anything new, and be stuck amongst a ton of people who were way younger and most likely way more talented than him. Thanks, but no thanks.

So he’d given up on that. He figured that, if he would start studying again, he might as well study something interesting, refreshing. Something new.

It was then that he decided to pick up the studies of hair and make-up. Nothing too special, just mainly evening classes while during the day, he had a job at a convenience store to be able to afford both his apartment and the studies. It was rough, and had taken him another three years to finally finish those studies, but he’d never had this much fun in a very long time. He’d made new friends, a lot his own age or even older, but with the mentality of college students.  
He’d been to countless parties, been drunk way more times than he could count on his hand. And it had been _so much fun.  
_

But of course, to all fun comes an end, and soon enough, he graduated. Adult responsibilities returned, he wanted a different job.  
Something that had been as fun as the evening classes with his friends, though a little less fun and a bit more professional would also be okay with him.

 

That’s what brought him here. Literally just graduated, inexperienced, but already working for the Paris fashion week.

He had absolutely no clue on how to thank Hanji for this—it was more than he’d ever dared to hope. Even with his studies of fashion technology, he’d never expected to actually get in here. Get a job like this.  
He knew that all fashion designers had their favorite models, and thus as well their favorite make-up artists.

And Levi was entirely certain that there’s no way that someone without experience was able to already be someone’s favorite make-up artist.  
Obviously, he wasn’t.  
He was filling in for an artist that had gotten sick _right_ before the show. He had gotten lucky, more than excited when Hanji had called him yesterday—It was really fast, but they were desperate.  
And Levi was the perfect solution.  
  
Good thing Hanji coordinated the whole show and was in charge of which model would be up when, as well as very sociable and, well. Maybe slightly intrusive and a little overexcited, but hey, thanks to them there now was an extra make-up artist.  
And thanks to them, Levi could make it to the stars in no time.

Paris fashion week was one of the highlights of the year. All the big names were on the show, make-up artists were mentioned in the little booklet that was inside the goodie bag everyone received upon entering the event. Levi had no clue how, but when he opened it and flipped through the pages, he’d noticed that they’d managed to put his name in there too.  
Could you believe it?! He didn’t even have a portfolio or anything yet.  
Apparently, his previous studies and whatever Hanji had said when they’d recommended him had been enough to convince them in offering him the job. Though he was pretty sure that it was also the fact that they wouldn’t really be able to find anything better on such a short notice.

 

So. Only 7 hours after Hanji’s call, he’d left for the airport, packed with all his essentials.  
He’d greeted everyone who looked important – the men in the most expensive suits, as well as designers he’d dreamed of meeting- and given his résumé, though once on the plane, he’d received the contract without anyone even looking at it.  
Ah. Not his problem, they were the ones hiring an inexperienced guy.

After he’d signed it, he relaxed. Levi had rarely been on a plane before—never in business class either, but he’d definitely thank them for it. It was way more comfortable than the small, crammed stinky seats you got if you were sitting with about 200 other people. Not that he’d ever pay this much for plane tickets himself. After a few long hours, they arrived in Paris and were escorted to the hotel near the location of the event.

 

The morning after he immediately got to work. 6 am, his own _huge_ table with all the make-up and brushes he could’ve only dreamt of.  
He wouldn’t get to keep it, but still.  
A folder with the model he’d work with, the outfits he’d have to do the hair and make-up for, and for some a few guidelines and general ideas.  
It was all pretty straightforward, and Hanji had talked him through the entire day earlier this morning.

Today was the opening, it had to be right from the first moment. He wished he could say that he wasn’t nervous, but he could feel his own pulse and it was definitely faster than usual.  
He was early though. And hopefully his model, some ridiculously tall blonde guy, according to the book, would be a bit on the early side as well. He could use the time he had now to quickly write down some ideas for the first outfit, and he caught himself almost smiling at the happy high he was on.

This was after all the creative part he’d missed in his previous job.

 

He switched between sketches, trying out the products and setting up the make-up and brushes up in a way that was convenient and neat for him.  
By the time the first models arrived, his arm was covered in little swatches of unfamiliar colors and brands he’d never used before, but definitely had been wanting to.  
Oh god, those metallics--

He jumped at the sound of someone clearing his throat, immediately turning around.  
Oh—this must be his model, right? Tall, blonde, level 9… no, 8 hair color, dressed in nothing more than a bathrobe.

“Are you Levi?” The man asked in an uncertain voice, eyeing him, and Christ, he felt naked under the other’s gaze, despite his model being the one with definitely the least clothes on.

“..Yeah, sit down.” He ordered, pointing at the stool. He didn’t waste any time, immediately grabbing his primer for the man’s face.  
  
His skin was flawless, surprisingly he didn’t even have bags under his eyes, but then again.  
They had to look beyond flawless to make it here. Adonis would be embarrassed to stand beside them, really.  
He brushed and pinned his hair back before applying the cream, remaining rather quiet.

“… Thank you for being so early, Mike.” He finally murmured to the man, who just smiled in reply once Levi had pulled away.

“Better early than late. It will get very busy and crowded towards the end, I figured it’d be better like this. Not a big fan of rushing myself.”  
A charming chuckle. Levi just nodded agreeingly. Right. That was exactly how he thought about it as well, and he’d take that as a good sign.

Seemed like working with this guy wouldn’t be as awful as he initially feared. Not that he’d thought it’d be _that_ bad… You just never knew with models, some really could be arrogant or act like they knew it better.

‘My previous make-up artist applied it like this!’  
Well he is your _previous_ make-up artist for a reason, bitch.

 

Around 7, more and more models started to seep in.  
Levi had a gut feeling it was at that time that they were supposed to be here too, since there were also quite a few familiar faces, artists he’d met or seen yesterday.

Half an hour later, Hanji stumbled in. Levi rolled his eyes, thinking they were late, but it turned out that they had in fact already been working... And Jesus, that ponytail was replaced by a nice manbun.  
Didn’t look too bad at all, honestly. It actually looked pretty good on them.

“Here you go Mike! Looking fab already!” They hummed in their usual cheerfulness as they handed him a bag with what Levi guessed was his breakfast.   
He was too busy to really pay attention or look up, taking his time to bring his contouring on point and sculpt his features out more.  
Next was highlighter—and a pat on the shoulder from Hanji.

“Already busy, huh? You’re ahead of schedule.”  
“That’s fine.” Levi simply replied, looking up at them.  
“…We can use the time that’s left for other things or to help out other people, if they need it.”  
To that, Hanji smiled widely, patting him on the shoulder again. “  
Keep up the good work, Lee.”  
And then they got distracted.  
“Goddamn old man, always late—”

He blocked out their words to stay focused. Couldn’t have that right now.

 

It seemed like plenty of models and make-up artists were late, because the place next to them only got occupied around 7:30, with a sputtered apology of some very young blonde kid.  
The model himself didn’t seem to mind all that much, cracking a joke about how the ‘messy rushed look was in’.

Stupid.  
  


Levi had come near the end of his look though, working Mike’s lids with the rich, warm sunset colors as a palette, until a deep voice woke him up from his thoughts.

  
“Damn, definitely a nice view.”

And he knew the words were directed towards him. When he turned his head to look over his shoulder, he found his neighboring model shamelessly staring at the ass that was pretty much pushed into his face earlier, then shifted his blue hues up to meet Levi’s furious gaze.

“…Excuse you?”  
“You have a nice ass”  
“Get the fuck away from me.”  
  
So far for first impressions, because Levi simply walked over to the other side, turning Mike’s stool.  
Goddamned perverted idiot, distracting him from work. When he leaned in to continue packing on the shimmery gold color, he noticed Mike was chuckling.  
Stupid perverted models with their stupid perverted modelfriends.

 

About an hour and a half and a very awkward silence later, everything was done, ready models standing all nice and lined up. It was stressful, mainly because a ton of models weren’t ready yet.  
Hanji had assigned Levi to work on Mr.Pervert Mc Assface.  
Lovely.  
Though, to Levi’s surprise he remained quiet and sat perfectly still, making it easy for him to fix those damn brows that were the size of this guy’s own dick.

Probably.

  
But of course the peaceful… or rather stressful silence was broken by an unexpected chuckle, then an apology from the model.  
  
“I honestly didn’t mean to upset you, but I guess you are since you’ve been glaring at me like you’re planning to shove those make-up brushes down my throat and choke me.”  
No reply. Levi remained professional, ignoring the man’s joke and focusing on getting everything done in time. This guy had to be up in three minutes and his hair wasn’t even done yet god fucking—  
  
“Erwin, get your shoes on now, you're just sitting there—there’s not much time.”  
Oh great, just what Levi needed, a nervous Hanji.

But they seemed confident and rather organized. In their own messy way with a bundle of papers clenched between their arm and chest, but still. Organized.

Erwin, as the model was called, slowly shoved his feet in the plateau shoes, not moving his head as Levi was slicking his hair back.  
No time for special or difficult hairstyles with the little time he had left—where even was that stupid idiot that was supposed to take care of _this_ idiot?

Hanji called again, Levi gave Erwin the sign to get up.

  
“Close enough, can’t do anything to fix whatever that coconut did to your face.”  
Erwin chuckled charmingly once again, but of course Levi remained huffy and bitter.

“Hm. I wonder what wonders you could do to my face then.”  
“—“ Levi frowned, looking up. Oh Jesus, was every model here twice his height?

  
“..See ya, poutyface.”

  
How the fuck did he fucking dare— 

But Levi was too astonished that someone even had the nerve to call him that, left voiceless in his own anger and frustration for too long, because by the time he had come up with a comeback –which, again, concerned Erwin’s eyebrows- the model had left to stand in line, giving Levi nothing but a little wink.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi had to excuse himself. The toilet seemed like a good place to calm down, and he wasn’t surprised to find it being perfectly clean. Excellent.  
> Whatever had gotten into those two, Levi would have to decide whether or not he’d decline… And how exactly, since they’d have to work together for another 6 days. Awkwardness assured.
> 
> \--------------------------
> 
> Day one is over, Hanji brings levi news that he isn't too happy about, though it definitely gives him a chance to get to know his models a bit better.

 

The show was a success. It always was, but the people seemed ecstatic to a point where it annoyed Levi like crazy.  
Sure, they looked great, but no need to yell or gasp at every stupid outfit that looked like it was impossible to wear in the regular, daily life. Even during special events like these, after having seen certain models struggle to get into it, some having to be sewn into their clothes or needing some vaseline in order to get it on-- this was crazy.

  
He didn’t really get to see it all as big and spectacular as the crowd did though. Despite having Mike as the model he had to take care of, he was assigned to help out where he could.  
Fix someone’s hair, touch up the foundation or eyeliner, such kind of things.  
  
No model had collapsed or burst out into tears, which was surprising. Well, not that he’d ever been backstage at a show like this, but he’d always thought that were things that happened.  
Disaster, chaos, tears and pain. But apparently it was nowhere near this disastrous as TV shows or interviews with models would make seem.  
  
A little stressful perhaps, but that was to be thought with such a big event where so much had to happen and so many models would have to get on and off the stage all day, it was a wonder the timing hadn't gotten messed up yet and that there were as good as no delays in the show.

 

 

The evening fell, eventually the first day of what would be a long week ended.  
Levi helped Mike, who seemed exhausted from prancing around all day, to get out of the odd clothes first.  
  
He made him sit down on the same chair as this morning, to which he received a snarky comment from Erwin on how he was ‘demanding’.  
Though he too got pushed down in the chair by Armin, who had apparently returned out of nowhere.  
Levi didn’t ask him about it because he didn’t care, and even if he did; asking would mean having to deal with Erwin. And thanks but no thanks to that.

“…Levi I think my cheek is clean now.”  
Waking up from his thoughts, Levi glanced down with a frown, the amount of rubbing he’d done on Mike’s skin had left an angry red mark.  
 “Oh. Shit, Sorry.”  
  
Levi grabbed another wipe to get rid of the rest of the make-up, then carefully and gently brushed all hairspray out of Mike’s hair.  
It took quite a long time to get him all clean and back to natural, but Levi was glad the make-up and hair lasted all day, apart from the few adjustments he’d done for next outfits.  
  
He was also proud of all the positive comments he’d received from other make-up artists, despite that being the only contact he'd had with them.  
They all seemed to know each other, and it wasn’t like Levi really was that focused on befriending anyone, but being all by himself during their lunch had stung a little.  
  
“Alright! I’ll see everyone in half an hour?”  
…Wait, what? What was four-eyes talking about?  
Levi was about to ask but Hanji was faster, turning around to look at him after they’d yelled that to the entire room.  
His puzzled expression made them blink, then nearly gasp.  
Oh god, so they had forgotten to tell him something.  
Of fucking course, this was bound to happen.  
  
“Oh, right! As a celebration for today we’re all going to have a wonderful dinner at the hotel’s restaurant!”

So that meant more awkward eating all by himself?  
Levi was trying to find an excuse while Hanji seemed to flip through an abundance of papers, an uncharacteristic frown dressing their face.  
Huh, they looked so serious.

“Ah… My bad, I think I forgot to put you on the list…” List? What list?  
“But I can definitely seat you with the models?”  
“Uh—What?”  
“Tonight. At the restaurant. I let people choose where to sit and it’s mainly like… a table for the designers, table for the models… But I can’t seem to find you on here and I had already scrapped Petra’s name… You know, the one who got sick.”  
  
Oh, lovely.  
“But the model table does indeed have a few seats left! Lucky!”  
“Hanji I—“  
“No!”  
  
Levi’s eyes widened when they cut him off, but the surprised expression made place for an annoyed one in less than a fractuin of a second.  
“I’m not gonna let you cancel this! Come on Levi, we’re in Paris! Great food, great wine, and honestly, the company is great too!”  
“How is it great when you’re all alone and don’t have any friends?”  
Well that sounded way more pathetic than he wanted. He could see Hanji’s hurt expression, but they should know that he was referring to the people he’d be sitting with. Not them. They were friends. Kinda.  
“Well.. You know Mike? And Erwin?”  
  
Oh yeah. The two overgrown puppies he’d taken care of this morning.  
He wouldn’t consider them friends though, but he didn’t exactly feel like fighting over that now.  
He guessed he could sit with them, if he arrived early enough to get a grip on Mike and ask if he was alright with it.  
It would probably also be a nice initiative to get to know each other a bit better, since he’d have to work with that idiot for another 6 days.  
Hanji had taken his long silence as an agreement and just chuckled, smiled sweetly, and then left.

 

How Levi had managed to get back to his room and shower in only 15 minutes was a great miracle, but Mike had said he preferred being early, right?  
Levi did too, if it concerned work.  
With this he couldn’t really care less since there wasn’t a deadline or something he needed to do, he also didn’t get paid for this.  
  
But still, if he didn’t want to sit awkwardly alone and find a spot next to that blonde bimbo, he’d have to hurry.  
Good thing he packed his suit, showing up in casual clothes would be a nightmare.  
And it wasn’t like he could borrow something from the collection, with everyone being a giant—

 

Ten minutes early.  
He guessed it was the best he could do, with his hair slicked back and still a little wet at the ends, waiting at the entrance of the restaurant with a handful of other people.  
Just in time, apparently, because he could see Mike gracefully walking down the hall, almost as if on a catwalk, accompanied by the bigbrow.  
Oh, those two were actually friends?  
  
When Erwin spotted Levi he leaned a bit closer to Mike to say something to him, the man’s eyes darting up from his phone to Levi, then broke into a big smile that Levi couldn't trust. 

  
“Ah, always early, it seems?”  
“I didn’t feel like rotting away in my hotelroom.”  
  
Though right now he wouldn’t want anything else.  
Maybe he could sneak out and order some dinner through roomservice.  
Or go out to a store, hell, he’d find something.

  
“Hmm? You seem like the kind of guy who prefers to be by himself.”  
  
There was Erwin again, shamelessly speaking those words and interrupting his conversation with Mike. Ugh, he couldn’t stand it, but that was probably because he was absolutely right about that.  
“Well, you’re wrong.”  
  
The way the two clashed caused Mike to snort, though Erwin seemed a little hurt that things didn’t work out.  
Well, he was kind of to blame, his first words to Levi being a compliment to his ass.  
“Oh, and by the way, would you mind if I sit with you? I don’t know anyone and don’t really feel like getting to know anyone either.”  
  
 A rare but honest confession, Mike replied with his usual gentle smile.  
 “Of course, go ahead. I’m sure it’ll be fun to sit with the both of you…” He looked at Erwin, then at Levi who had switched back to his pissed off expression.

 

But, once seated, the three were mesmerized by how beautiful the place was decorated, a painting on the ceiling that got them all looking up, and not only them.  
Almost anyone who entered recognized it to be what seemed like a mimic of the Sistine Chapel, the lusters hanging low from the ceiling so they wouldn’t reflect too much light on the piece of art.  
It seemed like they wouldn’t get the chance to choose their dishes or the amount, just choosing from three set menus.  
  
Levi didn’t know what half of it meant, and thus just picked the same as Erwin and Mike, since those two _did_ seem to know what the hell all this shit was.  


“So, Levi… You look awfully young to be such a successful make-up artist.” Mike hummed, swirling the wine inside his glass around.  
He didn’t even bother to look over at Levi.  
 “…I’m gonna be  honest, I’ve also never heard of you. Like, ever.”  
  
It got Levi a little flustered.  
He could’ve guessed that such an unknown name and appearance would be questioned.  
“Let’s just… say I got lucky.’’ He concluded, taking a sip of his own glass to avoid having to look at them, though he could feel both the men’s gazes burning.  
Being seated between them only made him feel even smaller, and from the corner of his eye, he could see Mike sharing a look with Erwin of which Levi had no clue what it meant.  
  
“Do you get lucky often then?”  
  
…Was that a sex joke? From Erwin?! His face was blank though, unreadable.  
He didn’t seem to mean it as a joke, but honestly, Levi didn’t even know these guys to begin with.  
It was better to just take this as a serious question.  
“Not really, but I don’t mind. Makes it more special.  
”  
At that, the two shared another look. What the hell was this unspoken thing between them--  
“Ah. Really now? I guess that’s a… nice way to put it and stay positive. I’m sure luck will come your way like that, eventually.’’  
  
Again, what was that even supposed to mean.  
He wanted to ask Mike about it, but any questions were cut off by the starter that was put in front of them ; prawns with some unidentifiable other things on a plate. (Were you even supposed to eat those? What if it was just decoration and Levi would make a complete fool out of himself now?)  
Levi was glad this was a five course menu, since this was such a tiny portion, even for someone his size.

 

 

Two dishes later, they had all seemed to become a bit more comfortable.  
The two had even cracked some jokes that got Levi to  chuckle softly. He blamed the wine for it, but honestly he didn’t mind it all that much.  
They were good company, better than the tv and weird French TV shows he couldn’t understand in his room.  
  
Not to mention how the menu they’d chosen was absolutely delicious in every way, even if some things were presented so that he couldn’t really tell what the basic ingredients had been.  
Who’d ever expected a mash of celery to look like that?  
Or to even exist, honestly.  
  
He was also surprised by how much they ate and drank without seeming to care all that much about the fat, or calories or carbs or whatever models always whined about, especially since the food that was served didn't look liek the healthiest, lowest fat and whatever diet bullshit there was that they probably had to follow ever so strictly.  
When he’d helped Mike change earlier, he couldn’t help but notice how muscular he was.  
Not overly toned or anything, just muscular without any fat to pinch.  
Erwin looked, even in his suit, a bit broader, but he had yet to see him shirtless.  
  
Yes, yet, since Levi somehow expected that to happen after Erwin told the two how he thought his make-up artist, Armin, had already collapsed under the stress on the first day and needed over five hours to calm down.  
Jesus, he definitely wasn’t cut out for this.  
Levi was pretty certain that if, or rather, when Armin gave up, he’d get the task of taking care of Erwin.  
Well, of his make-up.  
  
If anyone had told him this earlier during the day, he’d been pissed off big time, but now he actually didn’t mind.  
Erwin was way more charming than Levi initially thought.  
He probably just needed to get laid or something, but it seems like they just got off the wrong foot.  
  
“…And he even stuck his mascara wand in my eye! I didn’t mind it that much, but he really should’ve been more careful or asked someone else to do it, it still hurts!”  
Both Mike and Levi snorted, though Levi added a sassy eyeroll.  
“Luckily you could save it.” The nudge from Erwin almost made Levi spill his wine and he cursed under his breath before recomposing himself.  
  
“Mhm. Kind of, though with such an abomination of a face, there isn’t much I can do to save it.”  
“I think it’s the eyebrows.” Mike added, which ended in the two of them snickering again and Erwin huffing.  
  
“I love my eyebrows, thank you. I’m sure you’d love them too if you saw them more up close, I’m sure you can’t really see them from down the—“  
His sentence was cut off by a stomp in his stomach, height jokes were just a bit too much for Levi.  
Erwin apologized, but did make a mental note to not make any of these anymore if he wanted to survive.

 

  
Their first dessert was ice cream.  
A bit odd,  given how fucking cold it was here in France, but once it was covered with hot chocolate sauce and a bunch of fruits – definitely off season, Levi was certain raspberries must cost a fortune right now- it got a warmer, richer flavor.  
  
His appetite did seem bigger than Mike’s, who stopped halfway and explained he wasn’t a fan of chocolate ice-cream, despite it being homemade.  
When he started to spoon-feed Erwin, Levi did get a little awkward.  
He hadn’t really thought about it, but there was… definitely a possibility that these two were a couple.   
And he had just plopped down on the chair between them.

However, upon quietly mentioning how he and Mike should just switch seats, Mike held out the same spoon with half melted ice-cream, chocolate sauce and something that looked like a strawberry in front of Levi.  
  
“Mhmm, you two can share.”  
Uh, what? He didn’t care about the food though.  
The spoon pushed past his lips, the mixture melted and combined in his mouth and Levi regretted not wanting to cover his fruit in the chocolate, but picking them out as the first thing to eat, because shit, this made it taste better.  
  
To his surprise, he felt a hand under his chin that turned his head, greeted by a similar spoon and a smiling Erwin who managed to stick it into his mouth before Levi could complain or swat his hand away.  
The wine.  
This was totally the wine. They were acting weird because of the wine and—Levi was definitely blushing because of the wine.  
  
  
“… Finish your own goddamn food!” He huffed when Mike had fed him another bite, focusing on his  own dessert now so he didn’t have to look at them.  
The cold ice cream helped with getting rid of the heated blush on his cheeks, though Erwin’s hand remained on his back.

  
  
Levi had to excuse himself.  
The toilet seemed like a good place to calm down, and he wasn’t surprised to find it being perfectly clean.  
Excellent.  
  
Whatever had gotten into those two, Levi would have to decide whether or not he’d decline…whatever it even was they were offering.  
And how exactly, since they’d have to work together for another 6 days.  
Awkwardness assured.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahhhhh finally chapter 2! I had an amazing time in Sweden and loads of fun working on this, though the lack of internet made it kind of hard to get the draft to my proofreaders, eheh. Just like last time, big thanks to my betas; Mo (Moischart), Sanne (Staplesundae), Marcus (Zoustache), Alijna (Sunketsu) and Liese (Leiriel) !! You guys are the best <3


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM BACK NY'ALL.
> 
> Okay, not entirely, but i have this story planned out and do intend on finishing it!!  
> If you read this right after it has been posted, it's pretty rough, unedited, not proof read and it would be absolutely hella if anyone could point out parts that feel off or aren't easy to read/confusing.
> 
> The chapter turned out rather lengthy compared to others, see it as an apology for being gone for so long ♥   
> I hope you enjoy and I hope some people are still interested ;A; 
> 
> See you in the next one ♥

It was such a relief when dinner ended. It wasn’t quite as disastrous as Levi had imagined ; sure, there were a lot more awkward silences as the three finished their meals and wine—Levi was pretty sure the two models had been aware of how flustered he’d gotten. He also wondered if the message really was that clear, or if Hanji had decided to inform them of how ‘embarrassing him in public’ would probably lead to murder. Or at least unexplained anger with violent tendencies he doubted they’d have enjoyed- not to mention that Hanji would be forced to fire him for attacking two models.

However, after a while, causal banter set in again, and the lack of innuendos and sex jokes were surprisingly pleasant for Levi. He didn’t have to worry about giving or receiving the wrong message anymore, he could breathe and laugh and just enjoy his wine and final dessert.

“Hmmm, we should get going.” Mike hummed after another while they’d spent in silence, one that hadn’t been as unpleasant as the previous ones.

Levi hadn’t noticed or even paid attention to it –he once again blamed the wine and his slightly tipsy self- but upon looking around he could see more empty seats than filled ones. It seemed like they’d gotten along better than expected, because Levi had dreaded this evening so much earlier, yet was quite pleasantly surprised to find that he did enjoy sitting with these two extraordinary types.

 Despite the earlier situation where Levi legit had to calm down, the men were charming and fun to have normal conversations with. Down to earth, mature not as intense. That… did sound like the entire opposite of Hanji who happened to be his best friend but- ah well versatility didn’t hurt.

On the way back though, it seemed like he was sobering up. He hadn’t exactly been drunk to begin with, but walking, getting everything going and being behind the other two as they marched towards the elevator was helping immensely with clearing up his mind from the cloudy wine-induced haze it had been in and wash away the traces of sleep that had started to trickle down into his system.

At this point, everything in his head was telling him to decline their politeness, to ‘walk himself home’ instead of looking like a damn stray dog who was following two very handsome men (Though in all honesty, he’d gladly be a dog for them in other situations. Not that he’d ever admit such a thing.)

He probably must be giving wrong signs still, because now they were legit going to their rooms together and appeared to be sleeping on the same floor and he was just dreading the words from either of them, ones he knew would be an invitation to come inside, and ones he knew would be hard to say no to.

Mike and Erwin shared silent looks, Levi pretended he didn’t see but found himself unable to look away too. He was painfully aware that what he feared might be true, and keeping down his temper was always an issue, especially in the case that they’d start pushing him.

That, or he’d accept ,totally against his standards and ‘don’t fuck co-workers’-rule , and  probably regret it more than anything the next morning, only able to blame himself for making such foolish decisions. The elevator came to a halt, the three men got out.

“Erwin and I are gonna share another glass of wine back in the room. Would you like to…?”

Levi felt nervous and sweaty and gross because he was being asked by a painfully handsome man, invited over to ‘drink a glass of wine’ and he wanted to say yes. But stranger danger. No fucking rule. He barely knew them a day, it was too risky. Tomorrow was an early day for them all, he could use his sleep very, very well and god, he didn’t know what other excuses he could come up with.

“I’m… Kind of tired, I think I’ll go to bed.” He said in a quiet voice. He’d expected them to exchange gazes again, but instead, Mike simply smiled and kept his eyes on Levi’s. And that only made it far worse.

“Ah. Understandable, too bad though. We’d have loved to have you over.”

“Well, I need my sleep, so…”

It was a mutter, and for once felt unable to keep his voice emotionless ; the disappointment was clearly audible, yet he met the confronting gazes, both Erwin’s and Mike’s, who were both looking at him. Still, there was no signs of them pushing, much to his surprise, contrary even, they both smiled, Erwin wider than Mike.

Their exchanges of ‘goodnight’ and ‘see you tomorrow’ were short and pleasant, Levi threw a last ‘don’t you dare to be late!’ at the while they’d started walking in opposite directions, he could hear their chuckles even after closing his door.

 

Morning came in the form of Hanji. He woke up to the sound of them knocking at his door, calling his name several times. Levi frowned, blinked, and looked at his watch, surprised to find that he’d overslept. Hanji had started knocking harder, more insistent, and Levi groaned to let them know he was very awake now, ignoring the sea of words coming from the other side of the door now.

The wine really seemed to have left an impact, even if he hadn’t had that much. He was quite sensitive to it, not really a big drinker in general, he guessed that was why. Always happened with wine.

“..Mike is waiting you know, I can just give you..”

Oh, that part caught his attention. He was late, he’d overslept, surely, but weren’t they only supposed to be there around seven, just like yesterday? He rolled over, reaching for clothes that he’d thankfully laid out on the chair the day before, he was rather certain that right now he would not be able to combine anything decent yet practical with Hanji threatening to break down the door.

 

Mike was indeed waiting, ever so patiently, Erwin by his side like Levi would’ve guessed. His bad mood had taken a turn for the worse when Hanji had explained that Armin (remember? The mushroom head that had about nine panic attacks yesterday because of the stress.) was packing to go back to the US.

Meaning that Levi, being the most flexible and seated right next to Erwin, was now the one to take care of him as well. And really, he didn’t mind it half as much as he wanted because it was Erwin, but good god, he would’ve wanted to know earlier that he had to get two models ready in an hour and a half instead of just one, eat breakfast in between that and keep that up ‘till the end of the week.

 That is, unless Hanji magically found a new make-up artist to take Armin’s place or if some model fell sick and they had an extra make-up artist for a bit. (Which, admittedly, also wasn’t a very good solution since he’d have to squeeze either of them into an extra look in that case, which meant more styling in less time.)

Both Mike and Erwin were surprisingly quiet. They had greeted him with a nice ‘good morning’ and furthermore only really exchanged a few words and laughs with each other, not even bothering to mention how Levi had been late despite his threat yesterday.

As the models were lining up for the first show, Levi slumped down in the chair for the first time that day, reaching out for the cold coffee, one Hanji had brought him half an hour ago. He was proud, happy even with how fast and efficient he’d been able to work, finishing both his models right as Hanji called for them.

It was when he was midway with his bagel, still in the same chair as before, that he was approached by Mike. Several other models were around, it seemed like Erwin, however, was still on, changing into something else in the other room.

Neither spoke for the first minute, Levi was continuing to take little bites from his breakfast, Mike was sipping his water and checking what Levi assumed to be his schedule. He was mouthing the words, looking as if he was trying to figure out what meant what, and finally smiled, meeting the steel grey eyes that had been observing him the whole time.

“Mind joining me?” The deep voice asked, and the raven haired swallowed his mouthful, abandoning the rest of his food.

“Join you?”

“I have about fifteen minutes before I have to get up again.” He explained, reaching for a pack of cigarettes that was laying among the make-up, already pushing one between his lips.

 

 

Levi was almost surprised that a man this handsome and perfect would smoke. It’s not like he was really disgusted by it, he just didn’t enjoy the smell much, especially not when it stuck to his own clothes or his hair, which did tend to happen.

Still, he moved almost automatically up from his chair, pushing his tired legs to follow Mike. They walked for a little bit, going the opposite way of the one that would’ve lead them into the lobby of the hotel, instead finding a backdoor that, as it was properly named, brought them to the back of the hotel.

It was quiet here, no one around, not much to see either apart from a few empty containers that he assumed were used to dump trash in. Mike had, in the meantime, lit up his cigarette, leaning his back lightly against the wall. He seemed careful to keep his jacket clean, though even if he hadn’t, Levi would’ve probably pointed it out to him that he shouldn’t lean against it like that, if just out of respect for the designer who made the piece of clothing.

The two spent a while in silence in which Levi had, as he usually did, gotten somewhat lost in his own thoughts. Nothing bad, he wasn’t one to overthink and get sad about it, more so planning what he’d do once he’d returned home, jobs he’d attempt applying for, people he’d meet up with. Hanji was one of them, mainly since it was scandalous that they had not seen each other in such a long time, and that meeting only at work was ridiculous. They were one of his closest friends after all, one of the very few he could tolerate enough, be rude with, someone he could rely on and—

Well, his sappy train of thoughts was interrupted by Mike who had seemed to take a disliking to their silence.

“It was fun yesterday, wasn’t it?”

Fun was one way to put it, one Levi wouldn’t necessarily do. Still, he turned his head to look at him and try to make out whether he was teasing him, yet Mike’s face wore the usual gentle expression it usually did. Not a trace of mockery to be seen.

“I suppose it was. The wine didn’t do me good though, I slept in this morning. Forgot it tends to have that effect on me.” The reply from the other was a mere chuckle, followed by him putting out his cigarette, tossing it away and inching closer to Levi.

There was a certain tenseness in the air between them, mainly created by Levi who was always on his guard, yet even more so around Mike and Erwin now. Apparently his face must have his usual resting bitch expression, because there came a deep laughter from the other, he held up his hands as if in defense.

“Don’t glare me down like that! I didn’t force you to drink that wine, you could have asked for water. You didn’t seem anything but sober to me though, otherwise I wouldn’t have let you drink more. Same for Erwin, he too found it very nice to spend time with the three of us and wouldn’t have let you drink more than you can handle.”

At this, however, Levi had to swallow his arguments of it not being ‘more than he could handle’ and that he wasn’t exactly drunk, but the burning in his throat indicated that the words would be spat out in a way more rude manner than he’d want. Better to just agree, in that case.

Mike had in the meantime moved even closer, standing in front of Levi with his hands in his pockets and clearly towering over him. Levi had to look up to meet his eyes now, his frown deepening slightly and forming a crease between his brows.

 

 

“We were a bit sad you couldn’t tag along to our bedroom, but.. ah, since you’d already overslept on our own, I suppose it wouldn’t have been a good idea.”

“Yeah. More wine wouldn’t have helped.”

“Mm. Wine, kissing, all a bit too intoxicating.”

And intoxicating it was, because Levi had to repeat Mike’s words several times in his head to make sure he hadn’t just misheard it. During the time it took him, the other had successfully pinned him to the wall and leaned down, and the air between them was thick, almost impossible to breathe in.

“Come on, you can’t tell me that you were _that_  oblivious to our flirting, Levi.”

The amusement in his voice would have annoyed Levi had he been capable of thinking of it. Most of his thoughts went to his attempts to regain breath, to the way Mike had leaned down and put his face way too close to his own, to how a large, firm hand had found its way to his hip.

 

Yet even then, he couldn’t stop it, the height and confidence intimidating him and reducing him to a ragdoll that would probably obey to whatever Mike put him to, and there was no surprise when that exactly was him slotting their lips together.

The kiss tasted like cigarettes and gum and a hint of what Levi could only describe as Mike’s fragrance. He didn’t pull away, he couldn’t bring his body to. The hand he’d raised to the man’s shoulder, apparently without thinking, was stopped by a large one that had clamped his wrist in a tight grip to keep it in place. His other hand had covered Mike’s, featherlight and unsure in contrast to the other’s confident grip that he was sure would still be felt hours after.

Yet, still, Levi’s lips were moving along as if they knew exactly how to, not minding the intrusion, not minding, at all, the way Mike was touching him, holding him, making him dizzy in a way he could not recognize.

It ended, Levi realized, after Mike had traced his bottom lip with his tongue and pulled away with a grin he could only describe as ‘shit eating’. It still took a while to start moving again, after the hand had let go of his wrist, after he’d took a step back and finally left some air between them.

“It’s just to give you an idea of what it would have been like. Of course, there’d be the two of us, so I suppose that you should take the impact of that and double it.” Mike said as if nothing was wrong, pulling Levi away from the wall to put a hand on his back, guide him back towards the door.

“My break is almost over. Help me get changed?”

 

Levi’s mood deteriorated over the course of the day. Initially, once he’d gotten over the shock of the kiss, he’d been angry. Now, however, he was fuming with anger. It appeared like a boundary was broken, because in the afternoon, Mike had pulled in Levi three, **_t h r e e_**   times, kissed his forehead or cheek as a way of thanking him for the help with his clothes, make up or hair. Of course, Levi wasn’t fast enough to push him away or even complain (which, admittedly, would mainly be about the fact that Mike was doing it in plain sight).

It seemed like Mike had also informed Erwin about his actions, because it seemed like he too dared to touch Levi more than necessary ; putting a hand on his back to guide him to his chair, brushing fingers, once even ‘accidentally’ his ass—Levi could only glare him down, but the worst part was that he didn’t exactly mind. He just wasn’t fond of the idea of others seeing them, yet because of the way his mood had progressed, at their invitation to, again, come with them to their room and have dinner, he bluntly said no, had turned around and packed up his supplies in silence.

Unlike yesterday, tonight’s dinner was roomservice ; something witch chicken and a bottle of cognac he’d need to get through the rest of the week if those two continued like that. At least that wouldn’t make him as drowsy.

His evening was spent in silence, peace, with food and some weird French tv show that apparently didn’t need subtitles, according to the hotel. Still, it was in perfect peace, silence and solitude, all he needed to arrange his thoughts and feelings and figure out a way to stop those two from intimidating and playing with him as easily as they did.

 

Yet of course, he could never really have it his way, could he? Levi was rather annoyed by the knock on his door this late in the evening. He was tired, done, absolutely fucking done with Erwin and Mike's shit that, the longer he’d thought about it, had only annoyed him more and more and Jesus Christ he couldn't wait to bury himself in those silk sheets. Imported from China, fucking best quality, he was certain the fabric itself cost more than the entire bed.

Alas, he had to get up from the armchair and leave his untouched glass of cognac behind, nearly groaning out of annoyance. He managed to hold back the noise though, because it might just be someone he didn't know.

And thank fucking god, because it was roomservice. They never slept, did they? Even at 11:30 at night, the stupid kid had a bright smile on his face as he handed Levi a box, saying something in French. Levi blamed his exhaustion for the fact that he was just dumbly, angrily staring at the boy who visibly got more nervous and switched to English. "It's a delivery-- someone asked me to send this to you."

"...Is this a joke? What the fuck."

"Of course it isn't sir."

Levi's eyes finally fell back on the package, he inspected the box. It was a little heavy, beautiful black with golden ribbon like it came straight out of the great gatsby or some pretentious shit like that.

"...Right. Thanks."

 

Basic courtesy didn't cross his mind, Levi kind of forgot tips were common here in Paris when he just slammed the door shut into the kid's face, dropping back into the armchair. Seriously though, what even could this be? Was Hanji being stupid again and pulling a prank?

He angrily tugged at the ribbon at the thought, his second hand reaching for the glass that he probably shouldn't have downed in one go. Eh, whatever, he was planning on going to bed soon anyways.

The sides of the box gracefully unfolded in a way that looked like magic to Levi, but was just clever packaging to whoever made this. Now on his lap, in its full glory was a tiny chocolate cake. It was the size of a dessert plate and the scent that came from him made his mouth water, despite the alcohol that still burned his throat. By the smell alone he could already taste the rich, bittersweet flavor of the dark chocolate, melting on his tongue and sticking to the roof of his mouth.

It looked fairly simple, some glossy chocolate coat he had no clue of how it was made, ridiculously thin cut orange slices pasted to the sides in beautiful half-moon shapes, probably coated in melted sugar with how beautifully they sparkled.

The top was what drew most of Levi's attention, mainly because the poor guy had no clue what the white icing spelled.

"Étouffe toi avec nos queues" He read out loud, and made a face. This was French right? It looked like it.

 "...Which fucking idiot--"

**Author's Note:**

> I'm super nervous for posting this, ughughugh, basically my first fanfic ever published. Please don't bash me ahahahahahahhahahaha. This took me way longer than it should have.  
> Sorry if it doesn't have that much interaction-- I am planning on making this a multichapter fic and wanted a nice... base. Yeah, let's call it that.
> 
> Little disclaimer that I am a shitty writer and didn't do thorough research on how exactly a fashion week goes backstage. All terminology and events are made up or come from my own studies or experience.
> 
> Special thanks to Mo, Alijna, Liese and Sanne for being the best betareaders I can imagine and pushing me to finally post it!!


End file.
